Should i get gear in America

memaul

I'm going to be getting my first bike in around a month or two. The bike i'm thinking of getting is a bandit 600. I'm going to america for a bit of a holiday and I'm wondering if I should be on the look out to pick up some of my biking gear over there. Does anyone know if the U.S is cheaper in general for biking gear and I'm also wondering what stuff I should be looking to buy i.e helmet, gloves e.t.c

My plan is to use the bike year round so i'll prob need to spend a few quid to get kitted out.

cantdecide

The obvious thing is that they probably don't have a "CE mark"? I don't know if that matters, tbh. I don't know how much you're saving but bike gear is heavy and I don't know if extra baggage charges might offset some of the saving?

Rosahane

Get an Aerostich Roadcrafter suit, will lasy you a biking lifetime. They will deliver to your hotel if you give enough notice. A two piece is probably the most versatile

www.aerostich.com

Edit: Check out the sale items, can get seriously good value and available ex stock - this is what I did. Also get a slightly bigger size to allow for Irish winters. The Yanks either live in sunny States or garage the bikes for the winter.

Del2005

I bought an AlpineStars jacket and gloves back from the US. They where good value and CE marked, it's a global market so nearly everything is now. Trousers and boots would be OK also.

I wouldn't bother with a helmet as you'd have to carry it as hand luggage, no way I'd thrust baggage handlers with my noggin.

Just make sure to remove all tags and labels before flying back.

galwaytt

I was in US last September and ended up buying boots for US$175. They're nice, but were no bargain, and are casual, not racing/sport ones.

I looked at jacket's etc too, but tbh, I didn't think there was much/anything to be saved..........ymmv and all that.

If you're buying gear anyway, at least buying it over there means you only have to carry it one-way !